IdahoDucker

I agree. I bought an SBE because I liked it best not because it shoots 3.5's. The only reason I buy them is simply because my gun can take them. I'm primarily a duck hunter and geese are normally just bonus birds. About half of the time that I shoot a goose it's with my 3" #3 steel loads. Always works fine. When I have time to switch loads it's for 3.5" hevi-shot 2's just because I can. My brother has an M2 and has done just fine without 3.5's. Off the top of my head I can't think of a 3.5 that would give me more range than the same shell in 3". You get more range with higher velocity and most 3.5's are a bit slower than their 3" counterparts. You just get a little more pattern density and a bit more kick out of a 3.5 because of the extra shot weight. You do get a litte better pattern density out of a 3.5 but the individual pellet effectivness is less because of the slower speed. Then again, if you're using the almighty hevi-shot who cares about speed? Awsome stuff.

SBE II Ferret, First of all welcome to this forum. Everybody is welcome, wanted and needed here. We help each other. Now, there are thousands upon thousands of absolutely happy Benelli owners in this country including myself and mudhen who, I believe, owns several of them as well as other brands. When the one in 10,000 jumps in here with a real or imagined problem with their Benelli and does little or nothing but complain about it we have very little patience. "When a gun cost this much it should do X, Y and Z exactly the way I want it too!", is the most common "boohoo" we hear here. If cost was an object what in the heck were you doing buying it without at least some rudimentary testing? Like mudhen my dealer allowed me to do all but fire it with live ammo. I'm a pretty "common" guy (20 year Mossberg shooter) and there was no way in you know what that I was going to spend three times more than I had ever spent on a shotgun with out being thoroughly satisfied with it. Are you going to buy a car if the dealer won't even let you start it? If my dealer wouldn't have let me dry fire my SBE I'd have gone elsewhere. When the problems someone has with a gun are the sound of the safety and trigger pull it's 100% their fault. I hope you can get your issues fixed because Benelli's are exceptional guns. P.S. I hope you don't come back here to complain about recoil. Benelli's are inertia driven and therefore require recoil to operate.

I use the WalMart Federals all the time for clay shooting and have never had a problem in my SBE. Never tried the Wally Winchesters for the reason stated above.

Was the remington a gas gun? I'm not familiar with remington 10's. I could see a 3.5" 12 in a Benelli kicking more than a 10 in a gas gun. Benelli's require recoil to work so if kick is a problem for someone then a Benelli isn't the right gun. My buddy has an Ithaca Mag 10 and it's very soft on the shoulder. [ 02-09-2006, 11:04 PM: Message edited by: IdahoDucker ]

I'm copying this from a similar thread in the Benelli forum. I mostly hunt ducks and I started with a 28" pump. Shot it for about 10 years then swithed to a 30" pump for a couple then went to a 24" pump for 10 more years and they all worked great. Was a little worried about the 24" at first but never wondered after I started hunting with it. My SBE is 26" and I love it too and shoot better with it than any of the others. Choke tube and pattern testing are the key.

I mostly hunt ducks and I started with a 28" pump. Shot it for about 10 years then swithed to a 30" pump for a couple then went to a 24" pump for 10 more years and they all worked great. Was a little worried about the 24" at first but never wondered after I started hunting with it. My SBE is 26" and I love it too and shoot better with it than any of the others. Choke tube and pattern testing are the key.

Here are the deciding points between the Xtrema and the SBE as I see them. #1 is recoil. If you are at all recoil sensitive then the Xtrema would probably be best. But if your pump gun doesn't bother you then an SBE won't either. A Sims or X-coil recoil pad will really reduce the felt recoil if you need it. #2 is maintenance. It takes me 20 seconds (maybe less) to completely disassemble my SBE for cleaning and that includes the bolt assembly. The Xtrema is a bit more involved and complicated but I suppose it's not a huge issue. Every time I take my SBE apart I just marvel at how simple it is. Cleaning the recoil spring and tube is a little more involved but that's usually just an annual thing. I shot pumps for 23 years before I got my SBE and it just felt more familiar to me than the Xtrema. At a distance I think they even look like a pump. Both are excellent guns and I have friends who won't give up their Xtremas. I won't give up my SBE. Check around with gun clubs and hunting organizations to see if you can try out both before you buy.

Many people swear by winchester ammo. I personally won't use it any more and have never tried it in my SBE. The reason is that I have two semi-auto rifles that will not cycle winchester ammo at all. Stove pipe every time. Seems odd and I don't know why. Maybe after a good break in period they'll work.

Remy, What "general mechandise chain store" was this? Please reply soon. Those are good prices.

If you learn to blow it you will like the short reeds. Personally I think most of them need tuning out of the box. In the inexpensive category I like the Primos Honky Tonk. Higher end would be a Foiles Straight Meat Honker or a Saunders Traffic. Grounds calls have been a long time favorite and they are certainly proven but I have yet to blow one out of the box that I didn't think needed tuning. Maybe it's just my calling style.

Yep, 22 years of practice. Only felt good about it for about half of that. If I'd ever bought a tape or had someone good to mimic I might have improved sooner. That and when I had enough money to try different calls I was able to find some that seemed to fit me better than others. I've been able to help others by practicing with them and trying to explain what they need to do to call the way I do. And definately try to mimic the real thing whenever possible. Check with your local Ducks Unlimited and any other waterfowl groups around. There may be somebody willing to help. There are people around who give lessons. Heck, you're in Illinois, maybe Jeff Foiles would do it. You never know I guess.

Found a recoil reducer for the SBE1 for half price in the closeout bin at a shop here shortly after I bought my SBE. Decided to see how it worked. It's been in there ever since and I've never shot better with any shotgun. I think anything that reduces recoil is going to help the shooter with follow up shots.

Just remembered something along these lines. I bought a revolver from a newspaper add several years ago. The guy that sold it to me asked for my drivers license and wrote down the info there. He was the registered purchaser but now has record of who bought it from him. Might be easier than trying to get that form (if it's even the right one) from the ATF.

For the "general feedback" category here is my opinion on issues or problems with the SBE. Consider the number of problems posted here and then compare that to the number of SBE's out there that aren't having problems. I'm betting it's a very small percentage. Whatever the year of manufacture your chances of having a problem are no more than with any other proven consumer product. I don't know if there will be any changes to the '06 version. A call to customer service should answer that. [ 01-25-2006, 08:45 PM: Message edited by: IdahoDucker ]

Maybe what you're looking for here http://www.atf.treas.gov/forms/5000.htm#firearms third item under "Firearms and Ammunition Program".

I use the sims. No problems.

The Sims pad really does a lot in my opinion. There is another redcoil pad out, which I don't remember the name of, that is supposed to be as good or better. I believe tucker301, mudhen or one of the other regulars here has posted about it. An X...somthing I think. Try one of those, I think you will feel a difference. Quite a bit cheaper than a merc reducer too.

Glad to hear it. Thanks for posting your positive experience.

I think I'm seeing something in common with many of the SBE jamming problems reported here lately. Most if not all of them involve Winchester ammo. I could be wrong though. Anyway, I don't shoot Win. ammo in anything I own simply because I have two semi-auto rifles that will not cylce any Win. ammo. Actually, my Remington 597 .22 mag will occasionaly cycle win. ammo in the heavier bullet weights but that's it. So maybe it's Win. ammo that's giving some folks fits. By the way urodawg, your well put question about your problem is greatly appreciated. Much better than all the whining and crying that's been showing up lately. I wish I was more of a gun wizard and could help more. Others may be able to. Good luck. And try some other ammo.

Nuts, you're still here.

Good idea. Don't waste your time posting here. Just go find your browning and be happy.

Please do.

In my limited experience, when a Benelli is supposed to be supplied with five choke tubes, one is installed (in the barrel) at the factory. Is this the case with your IC tube?

New for 2006 - the Benelli Mudhen. I think I like that. I'd probably buy one even if Benelli couldn't keep the coot poo in stock.

I'm beginning to think that there needs to be an "I Hate Benelli" forum here along with a moderator (I'll volunteer) who will move all of that crap where it belongs. If someone wants to post a valid question about a problem or whatever, fine. Just take the whining and crying somewhere else. I don't post much here but I read it every day and I've never seen a product specific forum with so many one or two time posters that just want to say how bad the product/company is. Maybe it's because of the tens of thousands of Benellis out there that are perfect. Somebody hears so much good about them and then happens to be the one in 10,000 that has a problem and they think the world just ended. Who knows. WAAAAAA! Man up and solve your problem yourself. [ 01-10-2006, 08:36 PM: Message edited by: IdahoDucker ]